Come walk with me! In the eternal gardens of Heaven there are vast, sweeping parks with fragrant flowers and singing birds. They are slightly reminiscent of our botanical gardens only far superior. They contain many trees and plants that we know on earth and others that are unfamiliar. All is complete perfection. There is not a dead twig or a yellowed leaf or blade of grass anywhere. In fact, everything is very much alive in a way that is completely foreign to this earth. Each living thing glows with a light from within and is nourished by the Light of God that surrounds and permeates it all. The grass, which is thick and luxurious, may be walked on and it springs back up into place. Once I was walking with Jesus through a field of acres and acres of tall white lilies. They were so ‘alive’ that they literally moved aside to make a path for us to walk. And as we passed, they wafted their fragrance up to Him in praise and bowed before Him.

There are many, many paths and walkways running through these gardens among the trees and the beds of lovely flowers and shrubs. Some I have seen seemed to be of white marble. (see footnote below) On each side of the walk I noticed a small channel filled with stones … precious stones of uncut emerald, sapphire and ruby. Over these stones ran sparkling water, clear as crystal. I knew that it was the same water that flowed into a deep pool further ahead near the path. And from that pool it flowed slowly out to join other streams that bubbled up into fountains and flowed together into larger streams, plunging as waterfalls over the face of cliffs and mountains and flowing endlessly on throughout the realm. I also knew that it all came from the same source. No explanation was given to me but I somehow felt this to be the River of Life (which I had seen in another area) that was ever visible and flowing in one form or another.

Heaven is a very real place. It is not just a concept or a figment of our imagination. It is a real place in the Spirit realm, not in this earthly realm. It is of another dimension that goes beyond our natural senses. It is a spiritual reality which is higher than the natural reality. (2 Cor.4:18) All things there are complete and perfect. They are in agreement with and flow from the Perfect One, who is the Lord Himself.

You may have read of many people’s experiences and wondered why they have not all seen exactly the same things. You will even find this with a careful reading of scriptural accounts of people seeing into Heaven or being taken there. There are many reasons for this.

One reason is that each person is unique and the Lord Who created us is dealing with us personally at the time of revelation. He takes us where He wants us to go and shows us what He wants us to see and understand according to His individual purpose for our lives. Some people need desperately to encounter the love of God. Their prophetic experiences will usually revolve around that revelation of His love for them and for the world. It may also be their calling to teach this truth. Other people may be given the chance to see the judgment of God, both for themselves and others. They may be called to bring this message to the church or to the nations after being humbled by experiencing it firsthand themselves. This leads us to the next reason.

1 Cor. 13:9 says that we know in part and prophesy in part, in our share or allotment of knowledge and experience. No one has the whole picture. We need each other. We are only given pieces of a very large puzzle and it requires all of us to put it together so it can be seen and understood.

Still another reason for what seems to be discrepancy is that Heaven is a huge place, as large as another planet. Most people’s experiences there have been limited to a few specific locations within that realm. Let me illustrate this point.

Imagine that we blindfolded 3 people and flew them to Toronto, Canada, then drove each of them by car to different locations within the city before removing the blindfolds. The first person is taken downtown to the industrial area on the shore of Lake Ontario where there are high rise buildings, shipping docks and large ships from many nations. He might describe Toronto as a very large, modern city on the banks of the sea.

The second person has been to Black Creek Pioneer Village. There are candle makers, glass blowers and blacksmiths all in historical costumes and playing the part so well that it’s easy to decide that a trip to Toronto is like stepping back in time.

But the third person was taken to the Metro Toronto Zoo and he would argue that Toronto is like a jungle, full of wild and dangerous animals.

Once again, we see in part and that only through a glass, darkly as the Apostle Paul says. (1 Cor.13:12) When comparing notes with others who have seen into Heaven, there will usually be some things that are the same and others that seem to differ for various reasons. Every detail there has meaning and imparts understanding for the one receiving the revelation.

Over the next few posts we will be talking more about Heaven. I will be sharing with you in detail more of the things I have seen and experienced there. You may also wish to view other postings in the archives about Heavenly Realms. May you be blessed.

* (John referred to the streets of gold in Rev. 21:21 as being in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. The portions of the gardens that I have seen contained other sorts of walkways.)

4 responses to “Heaven – an introduction”

Pastor LaQueta, I appreciate your teaching. It was a tremendous blessing to read the way in which you explained being shown various pieces of a picture, and then the example about being taken to Toronto for example to see various parts of a city. This helped me so much, as I often wondered how people could have various accounts of heaven and how all could be accurate when seemingly they were so different. Thank you! This cleared up that discrepancy in my mind and helped to bring clarification.

It’s not so calm as you might think.:) I’m sometimes sobbing all the time I’m re-visiting these things and I pray I never lose that reality. I write to help bring understanding that these experiences are available and offered to us all. Don’t give up. Keep pursuing Him like Moses – show me Your glory!